Car-seal



F. IVI. VOLK.

CAR SEAL` APPLICATION FILED IIILY I9, 1920.

Fatented Oct. 5, 19Z0 INI/ENTOR,

d A71 Mmf/gyr'foR/VEY.

. provision of PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS M. VLK, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

can-SEAL.

Application filed July 19, 1920.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. VOLK, acitizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Seals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a car seal principally adapted for oiiicially sealing railway car doors, although useful for other purposes, embodying a flexible metal band having one end rigidly secured to a lock and its other end provided with a catch adapted to be operatively projected into one end of the lock for automatically locking itself therein.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a seal, of a class that is well known, that is positive in action, one that requires no tools of any'kind to attach or lock it, and one that is inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of the invention is the seal that is positively unlockable, and that can be opened only by breaking it.

lVith the foregoing and other objects and purposes inview which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying dra-wings:-

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the seal, locked.

Fig. 2 is a median sectional view of the lock member of the seal, showing the free end of the band partly entered in the lock, portions of the band being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to view shown in Fig. 1, but with the locking end of the band fully entered into the lock.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line g-g, F ig.

Fig. Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on line cZ-cl, Fig.

Fig. 7 is a view on line e-e, F ig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of one end of the band.

Fig. 9 is a cross section on line i-i, Fig. 1.

5 is a cross section on line z a,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 5, 1920. Serial No. 397,420.

Fig. 10 is a infr spring'.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of supporting member.

Figs. 2 to 11, both inclusive, being drawn on a scale substantially larger than Fig. 1.

eferring now the drawings in detail, throughout which like reference characters indicate like partsrI`he numeral 1 designates a lock embodying a housing comprising a lower wall 2, side walls 3, top wall sections el, 5 and 6, an offset 7, and openings 8 and 9.

Into the Vopening 8 is projected one end of metal ribbon or band 10, which is rigidly secured between the upper side of one end of the wall 2 and the wall section 6, by clectrowelding or by other suitable means suoli as soldering or the like.

While I prefer to construct the ribbon 1() of pliable sheet metal, preferably non-resilient, other material may be employed if desired.

The free end of the ribbon 10 isprovided upon its edges with oppositely disposed notches 11, into which are snugly iitted a pair of oppositely disposed projections 12 on one end of a spring-supporting member 13. Said projections 12 adapted to be folded downwardly upon the upper side of the ribbon 10. In Fig. 11, the projections 12 are shown in a vertical position, before their final bending downwardly upon the ribbon. The free end of the member 13 is rolled back so as to form an overhanging lip 14, between which lip and the member 13 is frictionally clamped one end of a locking spring 15, the free-end of which spring curves upwardly at a substantial incline with the main body portion of the member 13 (see Fig. 3).

To operate my invention, to facilitate describing which I will state that by normal position is meant the position of the seal when it is open or unlocked, that is to say when the locking member of the ribbon 10 including the member 13 and spring 15 are free from engagement with the lock 1, the ribbon 10 is operatively engaged with suitable fittings on the door or means desired to be authoritatively sealed, and the said member 13 and spring 15 projected into the opening 9 causing the spring 15 to compress against the tension of itself (see Fig. 2)

perspectiveview of the lockthe spring ico until its free end passes inwardly beyond Athe o'set 7, thereby permitting the spring to extend again into its normal position and thereby permanently locking itself against said offset (see Fig. 3).

I am aware that car door seals employing iexible bands or ribbons having means for interlocking their ends, have been used before, I therefore do not claim this broadly, but what I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A car seal of the character described, comprising a flexible ribbon having one end permanently secured to a lock, saidA lock provided with an interior chamber, a springsupporting ymember permanently secured to the other end of the ribbon, and a locking spring permanently secured to the free end of the spring-supporting member.

2. A car seal of the character described, comprising a flexible ribbon, a lock, the lock having an opening extending through from one end to the other, an intermediate' section of said opening being vertically extended thereby forming an offset, a xed connection between one end of the ribbon and vone end of said opening, a spring-supporting member ixedly secured to the other end of the ribbon, and a spring having one end ixedly secured to the free end of said member, the free end of the spring operatively engageable with said offset when projected into one of said openings of the lock.

3. In a car seal of the character described compri-sing a lock having one end rigidly secured to one end of a pliable ribbon, the

lock provided with an interior chamber having an offset extending at right angles with the axis of the lock, an opening in the lock connecting with said chamber, notches cut in the ribbon adjacent its free end, a spring supporting member having projections on one end engageable with said notches and a li on the other end for rigidly securing one en of a spring, the free end of the spring adapted to engage said offset when said free end of the ribbon is projected into said chamber a proper distance. t. In a car seal of the character described, the combination with a flexible ribbon having one end permanently secured to one end of a lock, said lock havin an interior chamber providedwith an o 'set extending at a right angle with the longitudinal axis of the lock and an opening in its opposite end intersecting with said chamber7 of a pair of oppositely disposed notches cut in the ribbon adjacent its free end, a spring-supporting member having one end in engagement with said free end of the ribbon, lips on saidl end of the spring-supporting member in engagement with said'notches for rigidly se- .X curingthe end to the ribbon, an upwardly struck lip on the free endof the springsupporting member, and a locking-spring having one end rigidly secured to said lip, the free end of said spring adapted to engage said oiiset when the free end of the ribbon is projected into said chamber a proper distance through the opening.

As evidence of the foregoing being my I have hereinto signed my name this FRANCIS M. VOLK.

own, 7th day of July, 

